Hairstyle and make-up in Shakespearean times and comedies.

Hairstyle and make-up in Shakespearean times and comedies.
                               Ana Isabel Bordas del Prado.

       Queen Elizabeth was a referent in fashion that created a very personal trend
during her period of reign. Both men and women were very hair-conscious; they spent a
lot of time and money getting their hair dyed red or blond, the most fashionable colo urs.
Men would trim and style their beards, and women wore their hair in combs, nets, or
jewelled pins (http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/exploring/randj/england/england.html).
The make- up would also become important in a very radicalised, even bizarre way. The
model of the Elizabethan woman’s fair hair, snow-white skin and red cheeks and lips
would be emphasised or achieved through a wide variety of cosmetics.

Hairstyle in men vs. hair“style” in Shakespearean comic characters.
       Upper class fashion, which included ha irstyles, was highly elaborate, and
necessary to achieve attention and success at court. It was referred to as the Peacock
age, as the Upper class Elizabethan men were often more elaborately dressed than the
women, and their hair and beards received a similar amount of attention.
(http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-hair-styles.htm). It is for granted that
Shakespeare took Elizabethan fashions to create his characters, but while hairstyles
remained more or less the same for “serious” characters,
deformations or exaggerations of those hairstyles were
present in comic characters.
       Men's hair styles varied greatly. Sometimes the
hair was cut closely at the sides, but it could be brushed
up and held with gum, or perhaps curled over the
head. The length of hair varied during the Elizabethan
era. It started as short closely cropped hairstyles and
increased in length during the period.
(http://www.erasofelegance.com/fashion/hairstyles.html).
       It was fashionable for men to sport beards during the Elizabethan era. The styles
and cut of beards changed with the fashion of the day. The beards could be cut in various
styles including pointed, square, round or oblong, and starch was applied to keep the m in
place. Beards were also kept long. (http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan- hair-
styles.htm).

More remarkable and probably used by
                                           Shakespeare were the wigs. When the men of
                                           this time went bald, they depended upon wigs
                                           to help them keep up the latest fashion.
                                           The wigs worn at his time were usually a
                                           fashionable        white   or   yellow   colour.
                                            (http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/sprin
gfield/eliz/hairstyles.html). Wigs, symbol of richness and power in the Elizabethan
society, were used as they were by a lot of characters, but in comic characters the shape
was exaggerated, or the colour was artificial. Comic effects could also be obtained by
combing the natural hair in a messy way or with hats. Beards and moustaches were also
extended or given an eccentric shape, as in these Shakespearean characters.

Hairstyle in women and its representation in Shakespearean comedies.
        The style of Queen Elizabeth was obviously more
influential in women. The Queen had red hair, so this colour
became a real vogue. Women emulated this colour or the
yellow as the ideals of beauty with a mixture of saffron, cumin
seed, celandine and oil. Another tendency was the idea
that a high forehead was considered very attractive, so
women     shaved    the   hair   from    their   front   hairlines.
(http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-hair-styles.htm).
        Two main styles were predominant in hair: the “padded” style and the “frizzed”
style, both worn by the Queen. The first one had to be done with two pieces called “rats”
-by its resemblance with those animals-, and framed the face with a heart-shape form.
The second one was a curly and rather casual hairdo. Most of the hairdos wore
accessories like hairnets (“cauls”) or hats called “coifs”.

Many of the hats were adorned with feathers, pearls, glass jewels, spangles, gold
thread, embroidery and lace (http://www.extremecostuming.com/articles/twoelizabethan
hairstyles.html).

                                 In these characters we see the padded style, the frizzed
                         style and one of the many different types of hat in Elizabethan
                         times. In order to achieve the desired hair, women also recurred
                         to wigs and false hair. In Shakespeare comedies, female
                         characters usually follow these patterns, although we should
                         think that just the fact that a woman was represented
                         by a man was a reason for laughing. Women characters,
                         however, could be represented dishevelled or with weird
                         hairdos depending on their social condition or mental state.
                         (http://www.springfield.k12il.us/schools /sp/eliz/hairstyles.html)

The importance of make-up in theatre.
       Pale skin, sought after by many, was a sign of nobility,
wealth and, for women, delicacy. This pale skin could be
achieved by a number of means, many of them poisonous. The
most popular was “ceruse”, a mixture of white lead and
vinegar applied to the face, the neck and bosom. By the time of
Elizabeth's reign it was well-established as an essential item for
the fashionable woman. Once an ideal whiteness was achieved,
colo uring was applied in a variety of reds upon the cheeks and lips, being vermilion
(mercuric sulfide) the most popular choice of the court lady. Kohl was also used to
darken the eyelashes. (http://www.rencentral.com/jul_aug_vol1/makeup101.shtml).

One of Shakespeare's most popular sonnets pokes fun at the common metaphors
used to describe the ideal beauty of those days:

               “My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
               Coral is far more fair tha n her lips fair
               If snow be white, why then, her breast is dun,
               If hair be wires, black wires grow on her head.
               I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
               But no such roses see I in her cheeks...”
              (http://www.rencentral.com/jul_aug_vol1/makeup101.shtml).

       This sonnet could be one example of how Shakespeare saw that tendency of
Elizabethan women to “hide” their real identity. And one way to show it to the audience
was in part by dressing men as women, where everybody knew that behind that make-up
was hidden a totally different person. We can find that “ideal” of beauty in the gentle,
pure and virginal female characters, whereas the wretched women could be depicted as
the contrary. Mad women wore their hair loose and mad people of both sexes had
disordered clothing and make-up. (http://shakespearean.org.uk/elizthea1.htm).

       Another aspect dealing with make- up was to characterise the actors (and later,
actresses). For example, to represent the “clown” or “joker”, the “old man” or a
“blackamoors” or “Turks” some painting was required.

       This way, physic stereotypes were reinforced, thus creating a bigger sense of
identification and empathy in the audience. At the same time, some face features such as
noses, wrinkles or eyes were highlighted with a good effect. The make- up was combined
with false noses, beards, wigs and other props, and its effect could go even further with
the use of prosthetic parts of the face or the body.
(http://www.rsc.org.uk/home/235.aspx).

Finally, actors could also wear partial or total masks to produce a greater effect
and emphasize funny or comic traits.

       As we have seen, what appears to be simple, easy or left to the imagination has
behind a whole set of conventions and rules. Shakespeare’s magnificence also was
present in this field, since he observed those models and stereotypes and decided among
them to create his characters. Just by preserving or deforming those models -with the use
of hairstyle and make- up- he made people feel and laugh, without the need of words,
which would be the culmination of his talent and his wit.

Hairstyle and make-up web references:

- On hairstyle:

   o “Elizabethan Hair Styles”, Elizabethan Era. Ed. L.K. Alchin. 5 November 2006.
       .

   o “Two Elizabethan Hairstyles”, Extreme Costuming. Ed. L. Mellin. 5 November
       2006.
       .

   o “Hairstyles of the Elizabethan Period”, from Elizabethan England, Springfield
       Public Schools. Eds. Lesley Barfield and Tamarra Fuller. 5 November 2006.
       .

- On make-up.

   o “Elizabethan Make-up”, Elizabethan Era. Ed. L.K. Alchin. 5 November 2006.
       .

   o “Elizabethan Make-Up 101”, Renaissance-Central. Ed. Drea Lee. 5 November
       2006. .

   o    “Behind the Scenes”, from RSC Hair and Make-up Department. Royal
       Shakespeare Company. Ed. The Royal Shakespeare Company. 5 November
       2006. .

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